Today I posted two new recipes that are gluten and dairy free:
Banana Scones
Applesauce Cookies
http://wanderlusthearts.weebly.com/dairy-free-and-gluten-free-recipes.html 

I also posted my parents favorite spots in Nashville TN
http://wanderlusthearts.weebly.com/1/post/2012/08/nashville-tn.html
 
Lastly I posted a review of the food at Johnny D's (from our Bob Schneider concert)
http://wanderlusthearts.weebly.com/massachusetts.html
http://wanderlusthearts.weebly.com/1/post/2012/08/unexpected-weekend.html 


I also created some more Cake Pops for my friends event. Check out the pics below!

Coming soon I will be posting reviews of Joe's Crab Shack, Sweet Cheeks Q, and a Boston Whale Watch.

Here are the places my parents recommend in Nashville, Tennessee

Homewood Suites Downtown Nashville
706 Church Street  Nashville, TN 37203

Nashville Farmers Market
Especially to dine at Fleur de Lys Cuisine
900 Rosa L Parks Boulevard  Nashville, TN

Sweet N Sassy Bakery
103 White Bridge Pike # 2, Nashville, TN 

Pucketts Grocery and Restaurant
Especially the Fried Green Tomatoes and Sweet Potatoes
500 Church Street  Nashville, TN

Savannah Candy Kitchen
310 Broadway Nashville, TN 

The Loveless Café
8400 Highway 100 Nashville TN

Grand Old Opry / Opryland
2804 Opryland Drive Nashville TN

Country Music Hall of Fame
222 5th Avenue South Nashville TN 

Ryman Auditorium
116 5th Ave North  Nashville TN  

I am working on some new gluten free / dairy free recipes. The first is a banana scone. The second is an applesauce cookie with cinnamon glaze. 

I will also have my reviews of goodies from Nashville, Denver, and Mcgregor. The other pieces i'm working on is reviews from Restaurant week in Boston and a Whale Watch out of Boston.

At the last minute I surprised Greg with tickets and dinner at Johnny D's to see Bob Schneider. Johnny D's is a casual restaurant / bar that is perfect for intimate concerts. We were seated on the "upper level" in the dining area with a perfect view of the stage. For dinner we ordered salads as appetizers and burgers for dinner. A full review will be up shortly. The show was terrific! Bob Schneider sounds wonderful live. He also is sharp witted, charismatic, and great performer. 

On Saturday we visited the Andover Farmers Market. The market offers fruits, vegetables, meats, baked goods, cheeses, and salsas. We did feel that some of the vegetables were over priced but the quality was excellent. For lunch we opted for a casual spot. We enjoyed drinks, an appetizer, and entrees at Joe's Crab Shack in Methuen. Overall the meal was good considering it's a chain. A full review will be up soon. 

Saturday night I tested some ideas for some baby shower favors. I have a couple other ideas to pass by my friend but I feel this was a good start. 

On Sunday we visited my parents who are finally home from there three week trip to Colorado, Iowa, and Tennessee. They brought home lots of goodies from all the different locations and I will be reviewing these items :-)

Coming soon:
Book Review: 
Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser
Loved it!!

Whenever we travel I spend months researching our destination. I feel it's important to be well informed about restaurants, hotels, and the sights of a city. Greg feels as though I sometimes take the surprise out of traveling but I can honestly say that I disagree. I have always done this type of research for all of our trips and each time I still end up being surprised and/or excited by something new. 

I comb through Tripadvisor, blogs, tourist sites, etc. for reviews and ideas. This week I am going through restaurants in Rome. In addition to some new discoveries, we naturally have our favorites that we'll be going back to like: Casa Coppelle, Osteria St Ana, Nonna Betta. 

I wanted to find out what people were saying about food in Italy right now. I came across a Pizzeria in Trastevere that originally looked good and had good reviews. That is, until I came across two bad reviews and the restaurants responses. I was appalled at the lack of humility, the rude attitude, and the bitter tongue of Pizzeria Nerone. We definitely will not be spending any of our money at this restaurant and really urge them to find better alternatives for standing up for your food while acknowledging that no one is perfect.

Here are the reviews and restaurant responses I'm talking about:

Quoted from Tripadvisor
Customer:
"This was one of the worst experiences I have in a restaurant. My wife and I ordered and then waited an hour and a half for our pizza. The lady serving us was friendly and apologetic but the chef didn't seem to care. We ordered 2 pizzas and waited forever for them, people who had arrived half an hour after we had ordered, had their entree and then their pizzas arrived before us. It was busy when we entered but was completely quiet for a while before our pizzas arrived. We definitely didn't expect fast food and weren't in a rush, but we eventually asked for our pizza to be made takeaway as we were staying around the corner, but my wifes pizza was cold and my calzone was a bit burnt. Oh and the salad that we ordered as a side was just a container of lettuce. I was really looking forward to eating at this place and feel as though I went to a completely different Pizzeria to the one reviewed by the others here. "


Pizzeria Nerone
"Pizzeria Nerone always receives special appreciation of clients, it's odd for us to receive such a comment which shows that it's not possible to please every one in the earth. There is always someone who complains. We invite all of the readers to our pizzeria to see that the things described in this comment are not true. And two short notes to the writer of this comment: 1) In the Italian language "insalata (salad)" means lettuce, while "insalata mista (mixed salad)" contains other ingredients besides lettuce. 
2)If your calzone might accidently been a bit burnt ( we don't think so as we're carefuyl) you could have simply told us to change it, instead of writing it as a negative comment which can affect negativly to people who don't know our pizzeria. The clients who were served before you were the ones who had telephoned 1 hour before to order their pizza as they didn't want to wait."

Quoted from Tripadvisor
Customer:

"and trust me I have tried a lot and I am still quite open in figuring out which one is the best. First of all, this is supposed to be a thin crisp pizza place: it is not. The pizza is thick and half-done. Second: I order one with Mozarella DOC (so the original and best mozarella in theory). Huge disappointment. there were just two slices of (whatever) cheese on top and they were so short with the material on the pizza that the 8 euro I had to pay made it a rip off. The services was quick and the guy serving us was courteous. But the gIrl was like as if I had killed her parents, boyfriend and all her family. Not sure what was her problem. If you can avoid do. There are soooo many better places in Rome. "


Pizzeria Nerone
"We, owners of Pizzeria Nerone respect the reviews of all our guests, but had to write an answer to this one which refers incorrect information. FIRST: The pizza wasn't supposed to be thin and crisp. Pizzeria Nerone is famous for its genuine pizza ALTA (not thin) Napolitana style which is not crisp: It's soft and thick. SECOND: Trying lots of pizzas in many places doesn't make people Gourmets.THIRD: Pizzeria Nerone generously serves much ingredients on pizzas and is one of the few pizzerias in Rome whose mozzarella supplier isn't a supermarket. FOURTH: Pizzeria Nerone doesn't charge service cost and it is likely a family management with three partners and their family members present in the restaurant to ensure the best service, so it's almost impossible to see an unsmiling staff. If it really happened to this customer, it must be an " exceptional case". We invite all of the readers of this review to come and see what a good quality pizza restaurant is Pizzeria Nerone. Best wishes."

Ever since I was a little kid my parents have done road trips to Colorado for our family reunions. The usual route is leaving Massachusetts, heading to Ohio for a visit with other family members, and then depending on the mood we either head south through St Louis or continue on a northern route through Nebraska. Some of the places we always enjoyed stopping are:

Ohio 
Polaris Fashion Place
1530 Polaris Parkway Columbus, OH 43240

Missouri
The Gateway Arch
200 Washington Avenue St Louis MO 63102

Nebraska
Delight Donut
324 3rd Ave Kearney NE 68845

Colorado
Garden of the Gods
3704 West Colorado Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80904 
The Abbey Winery
3011 E US Highway 50  Cañon City, CO 81212
Pikes Peak
515 Ruxton Avenue, Manitou Springs, CO 80829 
Wild Animal Sanctuary
1946 County Road 53  Keenesburg, CO 80643 
Boulder Colorado
Estes Park 

I have two new recipes that I will be posting. One is for those who enjoy a raw diet. The other is for carnivores who enjoy BBQ!

We visited Egypt Beach in Scituate MA this week. We had a really fun time with family. Egypt beach has soft sand, rocky edges, warm waters (warm for New England that is), and kids get to search for crabs and starfish. Unfortunately, it is a residents only beach. 

Greg and I also got some take-out from Sauce in Andover MA so I will have that review too. 

My husband is trying to convince me to create a side business. I often create favors for special events. It's usually for family or friends though. Here are some that I have created in the past. I would love feedback on whether or not I should take the leap. 

I first wanted to apologize for not posting lately. I get mad at myself when I can't keep up with my site. Recently I injured my back and so I was out of commission for a while. In addition to that I had to help my parents ready for their trip, finish favors for my cousins wedding (80), and finish favors for my sister in laws baby shower (40). All the while doggy-sitting my sisters dog (puppy) along with my two dogs. 

Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy by Michael Tucker